Delivery mechanism



June 30, 1942. w. F; @Rupia HAL DELIVERY MECHANISMS Filed IJuly 1.4, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet l R IOLJR S RWW L Y E mm maw o VMM n mm A M w June 30, 1942. n w. F. 'GRUE ET Al. 2,288,523

I DELIVERY MECHANISMS t Filed July 14, 1939 l 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 l lNvl-:N'roRs i v wlLUAM E GRUPE 1 ARTHUR MWICKWIRLJR.

ATTORNEY June 30, 1942.

w. F. GRUPE ET AL 2,288,523

DELIVERY MECHAN ISMS Filed July 14, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORSu WILLIAM F. GRUPE ARTHUR M. WICKWIREJR.

ATTORNEY June 30 1.942- w. F. GRUPE ETAL -v v2,233,523 l DELIVERYIMECHANISMS Filed July 14, 1939 5 Sheets-'Sheet 4 ATTORNEY June 3o, 1942. w. F. GRUPE ETAL 2,288,523

z `v I maLIvEmfI MEcHANIsMs Filed July 14, 1939 5 sheds-sheet 5 gNvEN-ron w|LLrAM F. GRUP:

' ATTORNEY ARTHUR M, WICKWIRE. JR.

Patented June 30, 1942 William F. Grupe, Lyndhurst, and Arthur M.

Wickwire, Jr., Mountain Lakes, (N. J., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Interchemical Corpo'- ration, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Ohio Application July 14, 1939, Serial No. 284,490

14 Claims.

This invention relates to severing .and collating apparatus of the type disclosed in Grupe United States Patent No. 2,012,561, and aims to provide an improved machine for separating laterally contiguous longitudinal rows of individual blanks and stacking the individual blanks of the separated rows into horizontal stacks.

In the Grupe patent referred tol above, there is disclosed an apparatus for forming a single row of blanks from a horizontally moving web and stacking the single row of blanks in a horizontal stack wherein the individual blanks are vertically disposed. However, when a horizontally moving web is severed into a plurality of laterally contiguous longitudinal rows of individual blanks, it is necessary to separate thefcontiguouslongitudinal rows in order that each individual row may be Vproperly stacked. Dimthe feeding members in a substantially vertical the individualblanks are moved in a curved path extending through an arc of substantially 90 so that they may be released from between position. 'During this travel over the curved path while gripped between the feeding mem- 4 bers, the individual longitudinal rows of blanks culties are regularly encountered in attempting this operation, since it often happens that the contiguous longitudinal rows are not completely severed. Moreover, even though there are no irregularities in the severing operation, due to the fact that the longitudinal rows` are contignous,` it is diilicult to prevent the individual blanks in one row from being operated upon or entering into the feeding mechanism for an adjacent row. Because of these and other diiliculties, all prior attempts to accomplish the operation contemplated by our present invention have not been entirely successful.

We have discovered that by laterally tiltingeach blank in 'the contiguous longitudinal rows simultaneously withor immediately after severing. the effective horizontal width o! the blanks is shortened so that the rows may be initially separated a suiiicient distance for proper handling and further separation and delivery in horiaontal stacks wherein the individual blanks are 'vertically disposed. We have devised an improved apparatus'for carrying out this operation and have included in this apparatus improved means for positively moving each separated blank out of the path ofv the next succeeding blank and into its respective stack.

In accordance with our invention, each blank is gripped substantially simultaneously with the severing operation between acooperating feeding belt and feeding chain, either of-which' may include feeding members having sloping upper edges, the degrees of slope in any instance being suiilcient to produce the required separation between the contiguous rows of blanks. Being thus initially separated therequired distance and properly gripped between the feeding members,`

may be further separated any desired amount so that, upon being released from the feeding-members, the individual blanks will be properly separated for delivery in horizontal stacks. Upon being released' from the sloping feeding members, we have found it desirable to provide means for positively advancing each released card or blank into its respective horizontal stack so that it will be completely out of the path of the next succeeding blank released from the sloping feeding members. The means we have provided for this purpose operates in timed relation with the feeding of the individual blanks and is so arranged that each releasedblank is effectively forced into the forming horizontal stack and thereheld completely out of the path o! movement of the next succeeding' released blank which will be subsequently positively moved into the stack. In this manner laterally contiguous longitudinal rows of individual blanks may be effectively separated and delivered in horizontal stacks.

The above and other features and objects of the invention will'become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of one specic embodiment thereof, vand the ac-` companying drawings, in which:

' Fig. 1 is a right side elevational view, partly in section, of one form `of apparatus embodying our invention;

l Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic planview showing the .formation of the cards or blanks and the path of the formed blanks from the cutter to the stacks,

,the view being taken substantially along the list 2--2 of Fis. 3;

Vrig. s 1s s ieri side elevati@ Vview of the' apparatus shown in Fig. l;

4 is a fragmentary elevational view, with certain parts in section, taken substantially along the line l-I of Flg.'3;

Fig. 5 isl a fragmentary 'detail sectional view taken substantially along the .line H of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detail sectional view taken substantially along thev line -I of Fig. 1;

Fig.v 7 is fragmentary detail sectional view taken substantially along the line 'I--l of Fig. 1; Fig. 811s a fragmentary detail sectional view into four contiguouslongitudinal sections ostrips W1, W2, Wa and W4, respectively. Prior to the slitting operation, the web may be given any desired treatment such as coating or printing, or the application of a suitable adhesive in the event that the subsequently formed blanks are to be used as portions of containers. -After slitting, the strips W1, W2, W3, and W4 are passed to an eccentric cutter E where theyv rare cut transversely so as to form four aligned and laterally contiguous longitudinal` rows of individual cards or blanks C1, C2, Ca, and C4, which,

after being cut, or simultaneously with the cutting, are immediately received and gripped 'by a feeding and delivery mechanism D which is adapted to separate the laterally contiguous rows of individual blanks, move them from their entering horizontal positions to a substantially ver-= tical position and arrange them into four aligned horizontal stacks on a plurality of conveyor belts B. The operation of each of the individual mechanisms is timed withthe speed of travel of the web and the subsequently formed individual blanks, so that. the said blanks will be properly stacked for'remqval from the belts B by the attendant or operator.

4The cutter E shown in Figs. l and 3, may be of any suitableftype which is adapted to operate upon and in synchronism with a movingweb, the cutter shown in the present instance being similar to that described in the Grupe patent referred to above, to which reference may be madefor a more complete description of this mechanism. As indicated. the cutter C comprises an upper forming or cutting element Ill arranged for cooperative action with a lower forming or cutting element II, both of said elements beingsupported in suitable side frames -I2I, and l22, which are mounted Yupon a base I3. The upper cutting element I0 is mounted upon an eccentric I4 which is driven by means of any suitable and conventional gearing I5 and a drive shaft I6 which, in turn, may be rotated through any con venient sourcev of power (not shown). The lower cutting element II is pivotally mounted upon a shaft I'I and operatively connected with the upper cutting element I0 by means of rods or pins I8 `carried by said upper element and adapted to reciprocate in sockets 2D provided in said lower cutting element. Due to the eccentric mounting of the upper cutting element IU, it will be apparent that said element will reciprocate up and down and also move forward with the web for cutting action with the lower element I I,

which, because of the sliding connection provided by the pin- I8 and sockets 20 will oscillate back` and forth about the pivot Il. In this manner,

the cutting ofthe individual blanks` takes place simultaneously with the movement of the web and without any interruption thereof.

As the individual blanks C1, C2, Cs and C4 are formed by the eccentric cutter E, they are immeinvention. It will be noted that the blanks C1,

aaaasas C2, Ca and C4 are in an aligned transverse row and that the longitudinal rows of individual blanks are laterally contiguous as they leave the cutter E and pass to the delivery and stacking unit' D, which will now be described in detail.

As shown in Figs. l and 4, each of the individual blanks C1, C2, C3, and C4 is tilted to produce the desired separation between the individuaL blanks and gripped between an endless feeding chain 22 and a cooperating endless feeding belt 23 simultaneously with the cutting operation performed by the eccentric cutter E. The method and means for producing the desired separation of the laterally contiguous blanks and insuring their proper feeding and further separation will be described more fully hereinafter. Each feeding chain 22 passes around an upper sprocket wheel 24 mounted upon a shaft 25 and a lower sprocket wheel 26 mounted upon a shaft 2l, said shafts 25 and 2l being rotatably mounted in left and right side frames 28-i and 28-2 respectively, suitably secured to the base I3 and otherwise supported in any convenient manner. working reach of each chain 22 is guided in a uniformly curved path, extending through an arc of substantially by means of a curved guiding plate or track 3D having a reduced outer edge portion 3l which is adapted to project into correspondingly shaped slots 29 provided in the teeth of the sprocket wheels 24 and 26 (see Fig. 8). These guiding plates 30 extend from the upper sprocket wheel 24 to the lower .sprocket wheel 26 and maybe supported by means of suitable supporting rods or members 32. Tension in the -feeding chain 22 is maintained and may be adjusted by means of idler sprockets 33 rotatably mounted on' arms 34 adjust-ably secured to a shaft-,35 so that by rotating said arms or the shaft 35 the tension in the feedingchain 22 may be increased or decreased, as desired.l

The endless feeding belts 23, cooperatingwith #the 'feeding chains 22, may be of any desired construction, but preferably comprise either` leather, composition rubber or spring belts which are substantially circular in cross-section. Each of these belts runs :around an upper throw-off pulley 36, suitably located Vadjacent the upper ing the shaft 45 or individually rotating the arms 43 on said shaft the tension in the feeding belts 22 may be suitably adjusted. Each throw-off pulley 36, referred to above, is rotatably mounted on a stub shaft 46 (Fig. 4) supported by an arm 47 movably mounted upon a throw-01T shaft 48. In order to allow for any' increased thickness passing between the feeding belt and feeding chain, asmight be caused` by mill joints in the blanks or by the accidental simultaneous feedingof more than one blank, the mounting of the throw-off pulleys may be made resilient by the provision of an upwardly curved arm 50 keyed to the shaft 48 adjacent to arm 41 and having a lug 5I at lthe upper/, end thereof. Any elongated adjusting screw 52 having an adjustable tension TheV spring I8 mounted thereon extends through an opening providedin the lug 8| and downwardly' therewith are held in proper operative'positlon,

as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, by means of an arm l1 mounted on the shaft 48 outside of the frame 28-'I arid having a spring plunger lock handle 58 at the upper end thereof. The plunger 88 of said handle 88 registers with an opening or socket 8| provided in the side frame 28-I when the arms 41 and 58 are in operative position. It will be apparent that by releasing the plunger 80 and turning the handle in a \counterclockwise direction, the entire throw-off mechanism may be moved to the inoperative position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1'. This permits rapid release of the belts in the event that any of the cards become accidentally caught or otherwise impeded in their passage through the apparatus.

While the belts 23 are in operative relation with respect to the associated feeding chain, they may be maintained and guided in proper position with respect to the cards or blanks fed there-beneath by means of curved guiding'strips 82 (Fig. 9)4 secured to brackets 83 mounted on transverse supporting members 64. Said supporting members 64 may be secured to the side frames 28 and 28-2 in any convenient manner. In Fig. 9, it will be noted that the guides 82 are arranged adjacent the associated feedling belts 23, which are substantially circular, in

cross-section, and act to maintain said belts substan-tially centrally above the cooperating feeding chains and approximately in alignment with the sprocket.V wheels.

As mentioned above, when operating upon a plurality vof contiguous longitudinal rows of blanks, it is important to separate the contigu- 5 ous rows prior to or simultaneously with their feeding into the delivery unit D, and we have the upper edge of the feeding blocks 61 for 'the blanks Ci and Cz slope downwardly toward the right hand side frame 282, while the upper edges of the feeding blocks 81 for the blanks Cs and C4 slope downwardly toward `the left hand sition for 'delivery in .individualV aligned. stacks composed of cards or blanks arranged in vertical position, as indicated in Fig. l. During their travel between the feeding belts and the feeding blocks associated with the chains 22, the blanks are guided in channels formed by separators JI, having knifed edges 1| at the Aentrance ends thereof, and end or outside guides 12 provided with curved portions 18 at their entrance ends.

This construction insures proper guiding of the cards into their respective channels, and the knife edges 1| provide proper separation of the cards in the event of any slight failure or lack of complete cutting by the slitter S. It will be noted that the outer guides 12 and the adjacent separators 1li are fanned outwardly (Fig. 2) from the center separator 18 to cause the blanks eny gaged by the feeding means to be separated further one from anotherbefore they are released for stacking .and delivery. The separators 1li and the end guides 12 arerigidly supported at their upper ends by means of suitable brackets 14 secured to the upper supporting rod 32. The lower ends of the guides 12 and separators10, however, are held in proper position by a plurality of resilient guide fingers 15 (Figs. 1 and 6) secured to the lower supporting member 64. These fingers are also curved inwardly and downwardly, as shown in Fig. l, and serve to prevent the cards from falling forward when they are released from between the belts and cooperating feeding blocks. At the point where the cards are released from the feeding blocks, a backing plate 16 is -provided .so that the released blanks or cards may slide ldownwardly over this platev in a substantially vertical position.

In order that a released blank may be moved forward, or to the left as shown in Fig. 1, out

0 of the path of the next succeeding card or blank side frame 28-2. Thus, by being gripped be-v tween the sloping edges ofthe feeding blocksand the cooperating feeding belt, the blanks will l be tilted upon entering the delivery unit, and

the blanks are moved downwardly to proper poand into the stacker, we have provided an auto- Nrmatically operating card advancing and stacking device which will now be described. yReferring t0 Figs. 1 and 6, it will be seen that a plurality of upwardly projecting stacking or advancing fingers ,11, having angularly bent upper ends 18, are secured to a transverse supporting member which, at its right hand end, projects through a slot 8| provided in the side frame 28| and is mounted in upwardly projecting .arms 82. The arms 82 are pivotally mounted on a shaft 83 and the arm ,which is at the right hand side of the unit and outside of the frame 28-I is connected at its upper end by a link 84 to the central portion of a cam rider arm 85 which is pivotally connected by means of a stub shaft 86 to the frame 28-.|. At its upper end the rider` arm is provided with a cam follower roller '81 which is adapted to ride in'a cam groove 88 provided in a cam 98 mounted on a stub shaft 8|. The shape of the internal cam groove 88 and the speed of movement of the stub shaft 9| are such that each time a blank is released from the feeding mechanism the advancing fingers 11 will be moved vforward witha sudden positive Amovement 'to force the blank into a stack 92 which is forming upon the conveyor belts B. After the released blank is properly positioned in the stack-92, the cam movement causes theadvan'cing fingers lto be moved back tothe Fig. 1 position ready for the next succeeding blank. It will benoted that the angularly bent upper ends 18 of the fingers 11 will prevent any released card from dropping behind the iinsupported by the frames Sii.

gers 1l, should they be released before said nngers have returned to the Fig. 1 position.

in Figs". l and '7 it vwill be seen that the stack l92 consists of a plurality of blanks C vertically disposed upon one of the belts B and maintained in proper lateral position upon the belt in collector troughs formed by means of guide walls 93 secured to a suitable frame 34. which projects outwardly from the side frames 28--i and 23-2 and is supported by means of` vertical legs 95. To maintain the stack 92 inproper longitudinal position upon the belt B and prevent the blanks adjacent the feeding mechanism from being rei leased, angular ratchet teeth may be: provided on the guide. walls 93. These serve to maintain the blank advanced by the ngers lll in proper position in the stack. The forward end of the steckt? is` maintained in proper position by means of a weight Q1 resting on the belt B.

i conveyor belt l5 is provided for each of the longitudinal rows of blanks formed by the out ting and severing mechanism described above.

These belts are of the endless type and the-working portions thereof are maintained in a substantially horizontal position and pass about rollers it@ mounted on a shaft li xed in the side framesZ-l and. Ed-Z. This shaft iiil is positioned to the right of the advancing'fingers 'il which are arranged' between the various conveyor belts so that said belts may provide a support for the cards as they are released from the feeding mechanism. Thebelts also pass about driven rollers H12 mounted on a shaft iiil `iournalled in the frames 918. Additional guiding rollers idd rotatably mounted on a shaft 105, and tension .rollers it rotatably mounted in the ends of adm justing arms |01 may be provided for further guiding and controlling the belts B. rArms mi' are adjustably mountedon a shaft lo@ which is The speed of travel aesa'sas on the stub shaft 9i for the cam member (Fig. 1). Finally, the conveyor belts B areoperated at proper slower speeds byvmeans of a chain and sprocket drive mi (Fig. 3) which conn nects the .main drive shaft Iii' anda speed reducer 425 conveniently arranged between the side frames 28--9 and 28-2. The drivingV gear of the reducer l25 is connected by a gear ld mounted on a shaft yi2'i for rotating a sprocket i2@ also mounted on` said shaft. An endless chain i3d, which runs around the sprocket tt and a sprocket i3@ mounted on the driven shaft of the belt is controlled directly by the driven shaft E03 and is such that the stacks 92 of blanks are progressively Vincreased in size as the blanks are delivered thereto; .that is, the speed of the belts is correlated with the speed of delivery of' the vertically disposed blanks.

. As mentioned above, the speed of travel of the web, the speed of the eccentric cutter E, and the speed of the delivery and stacking apparatus D ,nected by a gear ill to a gear H5 mounted on shaft 2, which is the lower sprocket shaft for the feeding chain 22, and thereby causes said chain to be moved at the desired speed. For moving the cooperating feeding belts 23 in timed relation with the feeding chains 22, a sprocket H6 is provided on the lower shaft 38 for said belt and isrotated by means of a chain ill which passes around a sprocket H8, also mounted on `the shaft' 21, and a sprocket H9 mounted on the end of an adjustable arm |20.

In` order that the advancing lngers ll may be actuated in accordance'with the speed of delivery of the blanks, the main drive shaft Iii extends beyond the side frame 28-I and is provided with a gear |22 which meshes with a gear 23 mounted it, causes the shaft lut to move the conveyor belt B at the desired speed. Adjustments may be made in the tension of the chain i3d by means of an idler sprocket B32 mounted on an adjusting member 33 which is pivoted upon the shaft idd From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that by our present invention we have provided an apparatus for separating laterally contiguous longitudinal rows of individual blanks and stacking said blanks in separated rows of horizontal stacks. hile we have shown, in the specific embodiment selected for illustration, a unit for operating upon four laterally contiguous rows of blanks, it will be apparent that the prin'- ciples of our invention may be embodied in apparatus for use in conjunction with any number of rows of such blanks. Moreover, various changes may be made in the construction, and certain features thereof may be employed Without others, without departing from the invention or sacricing any of its advantages.

What we claim is:

1. Apparatus for 'delivering a plurality of lat` erally contiguous longitudinal 4rows of individual blanks, in horizontal stacks, comprising means'Y for gripping said blanks as they are formed and tilting each gripped lblank about its longitudinal axis so as to causethe laterally contiguous rows to be initially separated, means for moving the gripped blanks through paths for further separating the longitudinal rows andreleasing the thus separated blanks, and means for stacking the released blanks in horizontal stacks wherein the individual blanks are vertically disposed.

2. Apparatus for delivering a plurality of laterally contiguous longitudinal rows of individual blanks, in horizontal stacks, comprising means for gripping and tilting the formed blanks about their longitudinal axes so as to cause the laterally contiguous rows to be initially separated; means for moving the gripped and tilted blanks to a. position for delivery and releasing them in such position; and means for positively moving each released blank into a horizontally disposed stack.

.3. .Apparatus for delivering a plurality of laterally contiguous longitudinal rows of individual Y blanks, in horizontal stacks, comprising feeding means arranged in substantial alignment with each row of blanks and adapted to receive the blanks and move them to position' for delivery inv horizontal stacks, means associated with said feeding means :for tilting each blank about its longitudinal axis and thus causing the laterally contiguous rows to be separated one from another, and means for positively moving each y blank in delivery position into a horizontally dis-4 posed stack before the next succeeding blank is moved to delivery position by the feeding means.

fi. Apparatus for deliverying a plurality of laterally contiguous rows of individual blanks in spaced horizontal stacks, comprising means for gripping said blanks in each `row and tilting each gripped blank about its longitudinal axis so as to cause the laterally contiguous rows to be initially separated, means for moving each gripped blank to a position for delivery and there releasing said blank, means for positively moving each released blank into a horizontally disposed stack, and means for maintaining the delivered blanks in proper position in their respective stacks.

5. Apparatus for delivering a plurality of laterally contiguous rows of individual blanks in spaced horizontal stacks, comprising cooperating feeding members for each row of blanks arranged to grip and move the blanks and release them in a vertical position, said feeding members including means for tilting each blank about its longitudinal axis and thus causing the contiguous rows of blanks to be initially separated one from another; and means for positively moving each released blank into a horizontally disposed stack.

6. Apparatus for delivering a plurality of laterally contiguous rows of individual blanks in spaced horizontal stacks, comprising a feeding chain having feeding members with sloping edges and a cooperating feeding belt for each row of blanks, said feeding chain and belt being adapted to grip the blanks as they are formed, tilt said blanks so as to cause the contiguous rows to be initially separated, and move the separated blanks to a position for-delivery and there release them; and means for positively moving each released blank into an aligned horizontally disposed stack.

7. Apparatus for delivering a plurality of laterally contiguous rows of individua blanks in spaced horizontal stacks, comprising a feeding chain and a cooperating feeding belt for each row of blanks including means for tilting the blanks about their longitudinal aires to cause the rows to be initially separated; means for guiding said chains and cooperating feeding belts through diverging paths which are arranged to cause the rows of blanks to be laterally separated one from another for delivery; and means for moving the blanks fed by each of said chains and feeding belts into a horizontal stack of blanks aligned therewith.

8. Apparatus for delivering a plurality of laterally contiguous rows of individual blanks in spaced horizontal stacks, comprising blank feeding means for each row of blanks including a feeding chain and a cooperating feeding belt arranged in gripping relation therewith, said feeding belt having a resilient mounting at the point where the blanks are initially gripped and the links of said chain having sloping upper edges so that vthe laterally contiguous blanks will be separated when gripped by the feeding means; and means for moving the blanks from a; position adjacent the outlet of said feeding means into an associated horizontal stack.

ranged in gripping relationv therewith, the links of said chain having sloping upper edges so that the laterally contiguous blanks will be separated when gripped by the feeding means; and means fox' releasing the feeding belts from their grip ping relation with the feeding chains.

10. Apparatus for delivering a plurality of laterally contiguous rows of individualblanks in spaced horizontal stacks, comprising blank feed# ing means for each row cf blanks including a feeding belt and'a cooperating feeding chain arranged in gripping relation therewith and including means for causing the laterally contiguous blanks to be initially separated when gripped, the working reach of each blank feeding means extending through an arc of substantially so that the blanks may be released in a vertical potilting the formed blanks about their longitudinal axes so as to cause the laterally contiguous rows to be initially separated; means for moving the gripped and tilted blanks to a position for delivery and releasing them in such position; and means for collecting the thus released blanks at the delivery position.

12. Apparatus for delivering a plurality of laterally contiguous longitudinal rows of individual blanks, comprising means for tilting the formed blanks about-their longitudinal axes so as to cause the laterally contiguous rows to be initially separated; means cooperating withsuch tilting means for moving the tilted blanks to a position for delivery and releasing them in such position; and means for collecting the thus released blanks at the delivery position.

13. Apparatus for delivery a plurality oi laterally contiguous rows of individual blanks, comprising a feeding chain having feeding members with sloping edges and a cooperating feeding belt for each row of blanks, said feeding chain and belt being adapted to grip the blanks as they are formedytilt said blanks so as to cause the contiguous rows to be initially separated, and move the separated blanks to a position for delivery and there release them; and means for collecting the thus released blanks at the delivery position.

14. Apparatus for delivering a plurality of laterally contiguous rows of individual blanks, comprising blank feeding means for each row of blanksincluding a feeding chain and a cooperating feeding belt arranged in gripping relation therewith, the links of said chain having sloping upper edges so that the laterally contiguous blanks will be separated when gripped by the WILLIAM F. GRUPE. ARTHUR M. WICKWIRE, JR. 

